


Assessing

by DustToDust



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Going way back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28611519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DustToDust/pseuds/DustToDust
Summary: The damage is extensive, and he paces slowly down the furthest extent of it's reach.
Kudos: 10





	Assessing

**Author's Note:**

> Posted under a previous penname, now cleaned up and expanded a bit ~~how'd I get another thousand words into this?~~ I originally wrote this way back when the raw of Ch. 247 first came out, and way before the conclusion of the Gaara abduction arc. So, this bit of fancy was written about what might happen if they never made it out of Sunagakure with Gaara.

~

The streets Gaara walks are quiet and deserted. Rubble litters the damaged city shifting as building holding on by a thread collapse. Dust and sand blowing around the new ruins of homes and businesses. Places filled with life and the sounds of people not even a few hours ago. If left alone long enough he knows it will all be buried within a matter of days. Reclaimed by the desert not even their walls can truly keep out of Suna.

Gaara picks his way through the streets cautiously. More for out of causing more damage than being caught in one of the inevitable collapses. His eyes sweep from side to side assessing the extent of it all. The damage is thankfully contained to one part of the city, but it is quite extensive. Many people will be without home and work for a while before they can even begin to think about rebuilding.

The two Akatsuki members dealt his city a great blow with just this one attack. They'd known exactly where to hit to make him hurt.

Gaara pauses as a low hissing draws his attention. To his left is a partially destroyed residence, the lack of blood a good sign he takes note of before he steps through a hole into what must have once been a kitchen. Grimacing as he steps into a good inch of water puddled on the floor.

 _Water is precious, wasting it means death_. 

The memory of Yashamaru's careful lesson flits through his head without permission and he looks around finding the source of the leak. A pipe connected to the city's main water supply lies under a foot of rubble, fat drops of water leaking out to pool on the cracked floor. Gaara carefully uses his sand to push it all to the side and studies the spurting pipe he uncovers.

He's not a handy man by any means and fixing it is out of the question. Sand crushes the pipe destroying the water flow, and preventing the precious liquid from evaporating into the air. He'll have to order the engineers immediately check the water pipes for any other leaks if they aren't already doing it. It's added to his growing list of things that must be done or checked.

The next street he walks down is worse. Every building is damaged and most look unsalvageable. It's also busy with people. Gaara pauses in the rubble of what once was a store and watches the largely civilian group. A few weep openly at the ruin of their lives. Most face the destruction with the grim determination more common to Suna's people, silently picking through destroyed homes for anything that might have escaped destruction to help them rebuild.

"Kazekage-sama," Gaara looks down at the soft voice. A girl and boy both look up at him nervous and awed. Their clothes dirty from the dust but whole and undamaged. The girl holds a cracked cup up to him thick with soup that steams in the open air.

Gaara kneels down and accepts the cup from the girl. He doesn't smile but he does pat both their heads carefully, the way he's observed some parents do to their own young children on the streets. It's a small thing that he still doesn't fully understand, but he's learned that small gestures like it often go a long way to reassuring people. "Thank you."

The children run off giggling in delight. No doubt to horrify their caretaker with the tale of their encounter with the dreaded Kazekage. Though Gaara was finding it increasingly common to be stalked through the streets by kids --too young to remember a time when he was more beast than man-- a good portion of the adult population still fear him. It's progress of a sort, and he is willing to give it as much time as needed.

The soup is hot for the noon sun beating down on the world and far too bland for his taste, but he finishes it off anyway and places the cup on a garden wall that looks like it might have been collapsing before the attack. Getting back up on his feet proves to be slightly harder than he anticipated though. The bit of rest he allowed himself only making him more aware of how tired and hurt he is. His side throbs painfully though the kunai had only slid over his ribs to open up a shallow cut. The drying blood sticks to the bandages he had inexpertly put on, ripping small scabbed sections open again when he's not careful. Kankurou will have a fit when he finally catches up with him for it, but the pain --a foreign sensation-- is negligible in light of what needs to be done.

What needs to be _started_ before any real work can begin.

The people move respectfully --and always a little fearfully-- out of his way as he continues to survey the damage done. Gaara could have had any one of his advisors do it, but it is easier for him to see it himself instead of trying to decipher a stranger's written report. It's easier to know what he has to do to fix it when he can rely on his memory to pinpoint the areas that need priority. He has all of the coming night to draft orders and cobble together a plan of action from his assessing.

Gaara knows his advisors are surprised by the ease with which he took to the Kazekage title. In the first months he'd often overheard their wonder over how he ruled. Not much of a compliment, anything except outright bloodshed from him would have amazed them. The fact that he had not only not killed anyone, but also recovered the Sand nation's strength beyond what it was before their battle with the Leaf was an outright miracle to most.

"Kazekage-sama," an old woman reaches for his sleeve as he passes. Narrow eyes lined by years take in his torn clothes and the glimpse of blood spotted bandages. The woman nods with a hint of satisfaction and pride he's not used to from those her age. She pulls a wrapped bundle out of her basket to hold out for him. "Food for our warriors."

Gaara accepts the package and bows in respect. For the action and the food. She smiles in delight before walking away. Hunger still gnaws at him as he finds a rather large sized sandwich folded up in the waxed paper. It tastes better than the soup and is gone in seconds as he finishes pacing down the block. 

The next street is fairly untouched with only a few buildings damaged. A crowd stands halfway down, gathered around one of the most heavily damaged buildings. Even from a distance he can hear the anxiousness in their voices, the urgency broadcasting in the movement of those working fast to throw rubble out into the street. They're focused on their goal but not to the exclusion of their surroundings as his approach is noted.

"K-kazekage-sama," an older man hastily bows and looks around nervously, body fighting his mind as he steps back to the building. The back half of it is caved in and the others hover near a hole they've uncovered. The air is hazy from dust and Gaara can feel the vibration of his own steps beat through the building in alarming ways. "There is someone, a shinobi, at the bottom. We, we cannot free him."

Gaara can hear voices from below, and can smell the faintest trace of blood on the air. He looks back at those still on the street. Some with scratched and dusty hands, all looking frustrated, "Get everyone out of this area. It will cave in soon."

He doesn't wait for a response before dropping into the hole. It's a short distance to the floor of what was once a cellar and he scares a few years off the two young men standing at the bottom. Both scramble back up and out of the building leaving a lantern behind. The back end of the cellar is completely collapsed with a large support beam barely keeping the rest of the house from caving in.

Rasping, pain filled gasps fill the enclosed area and Gaara easily locates the injured man. The jounin's legs are pinned beneath a fall of concrete, blood mixing with the fallen dust to create a rusty mud around him. The majority of the beam's weight is centered on him.

The man looks up at him from the ground with a desperation Gaara's far too familiar with. His face is a mask of pain and blood, but for once there is no fear to be seen. Only hope. "Kazekage-sama...."

Gaara kneels next to him and studies the rubble, buying time for the attempted rescuers to finish scrambling away. He waits for the area immediately around the building to clear. When he can feel the presence of the people get far enough away to be safe Gaara places his hands on the man's shoulders. Sand slowly trickles in to fill the space between the man and the rubble.

"This is going to hurt," Gaara warns the man softly. 

"Yeah, no shit," the jounin laughs through a grimace before he reaches up to grip at Gaara's arm. Grim anticipation battling with the dazed glaze of blood-loss in the eyes that squint up at him. Hope is still there, and a healthy amount of trust that nearly makes Gaara pause.

Gaara concentrates and pushes the rubble away. A low groan from the building is all the warning it gives before it fully collapses around them with a roar. Gaara can barely hear it over the man's bitten off scream, louder in the shell of sand that forms protectively around the two of them. Before the rubble can completely settle Gaara is already moving. Using the sand to force his way up and bring them both to the surface. 

Cushioning the wounded jounin on a bed of sand, he dispels the shield around them once he feels no more resistance. A team of medics is already waiting for him and rush to take the wounded man from his care. Focused entirely on the blood that Gaara can feel soaking into his sand and stopping it as they rush to do damage control. The older woman barking orders at a man who looks close to collapsing, but who easily anticipates her needs. A couple of genin wait with a stretcher and wide eyes that bounce from Gaara to the man to the house still collapsing in on itself.

Gaara nods to them and, after a quick glance at the crowd gathered a respectful distance away, he turns to his next objective. By now all the wounded shinobi and civilians will be at the hospital. He's already seen the damage done to his city, now it's time for him to see the damage done to his people.

~


End file.
